Save the Faerie Cottage

Fans & friends of Francesca Lia Block, please help put pressure on Bank of America to refinance her home, the Faerie Cottage, so she doesn't have to go through foreclosure! Francesca has been trying for over a year to apply for different homeowner's loan modifications, only to be stonewalled at every turn. Read about it at http://savethefaeriecottage.blogspot.com, and sign the petition--please spread the word!

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THE BASICS:

Dear fans & friends of Francesca Lia Block,

We've decided to create this website to put as much pressure as possible on Bank of America, who are dragging their feet about working with Francesca Lia Block on refinancing her home, which threatens her with foreclosure. You know Francesca as a highly respected working author, teacher, and single mother of two. And if you're a fan of Francesca's books, or one of the many students who've spent time at her home, the Faerie Cottage, you know how important that home is to her work, and you will want to know what's going on, and how you can help.

The story in brief: Francesca has good credit and an up-to-date mortgage for an over-encumbered property (which has declined in value due to current market conditions and the recession). In other words her house is, as they say, "underwater." In order to avoid foreclosure, she has been trying for an entire year to get the bank to modify the existing (and incredibly unfair) interest-only loan on the property, since it has declined so much in value.

You may have heard about Obama’s plan to help people in a similar situation with Bank of America, or read various articles about this situation on the Internet (with Bank of America claiming they are trying to help their customers), so some of what you read about this will sound familiar to you. Click on savethefaeriecottage for a timeline and more information about how unfairly Bank of American has been treating their customer and our friend.

And above all, please help in spreading the word about this situation! Link to this petition and tell other Francesca friends, so we do everything we can to help save the Faerie Cottage for her, her children, their friends, and all of us who love her.

Letter to

Bank of AmericaBrian T. Moynihan

Bank of AmericaBarbara Desoer

I just signed the following petition addressed to Bank of America. Read about it at http://savethefaeriecottage.blogspot.com, and sign the petition here--please spread the word!

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Bank of America CEOs:

I am writing to express my outrage at Bank of America for failing to assist Francesca Lia Block with her homeowner's loan modification. Ms. Block, a highly-regarded author and single mother of two, has been trying for over a year to work with your bank on getting her loan modified, and during that time (and indeed, for the four-and-a-half years during which she has held the mortgage), she has not missed a single payment. She has repeatedly mailed packages of requested information, made phone calls, filled out paperwork, and been reassured again and again that your employees could help—only to be treated disrespectfully and essentially ignored. Is stonewalling your most valued clients how you do business?

As a friend of Ms. Block's, I am unbelievably disappointed in your failure to work with her. Do you not realize that a foreclosure will cost you money, and that by losing her, you would be losing a loyal, reliable customer? Recently your bank has been in the news, under media scrutiny for its repeated failure to help consumers access the federal bailout funds to which they are entitled. I believe it would go a long way toward restoring your public image if you were to work with a homeowner who has been trying to work with you, in good faith, for many months now. I urge you to reconsider your treatment of Ms. Block, and to work with her immediately on coming up with a solid solution so that she and her family will be able to keep their home.